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T-33 Tractor Tank
The T-33 Tractor Tank, officially called the''' Type 33 Light Tank', is a post-war light tank and makeshift vehcile produced by the Vladivostok Arms Company in the Far Eastern Republic. It's a makeshift tank used by the Far Eastern Armed Forces and is a tractor tank, a type of Technical, that is made from the chasis of a bulldozer or tractor and turned into a light tank with light armor, a 57 mm cannon and a three man crew. Due to its similarities to the NI Tank, a makeshift tank used by the Red Army during World War II at the Siege of Odessa, the T-33 is commonly known as the '"Odessa Tank"' or the '"Odessa Gun"''' by its users and those within post-war Russia. Development Following the rise and growth of the Far Eastern Republic, the Vladivostok Arms Company, a pre-war arms manufacturing company based in Vladivostok, was restored and nationalized as the state-owned business responsible for the production of weapons for the Far Eastern Armed Forces which included both small arms and vehicles of all types alike. As the republic grew, the military did as well and the VAC began producing new weapons and vehicles for the military. By the time of the Russo-Manchurian War of 2101, the bulk of Far Eastern armor was restored pre-war tanks such as the T-87 and the T-61 along with refurbished and restored antiquated vehicles such as World War II-era tanks and armored cars from the BA-10 to post-war recreations of the BT Tank series. Post-war makeshift tanks began arriving to the front, but the Far Eastern government ordered the VAC to produce a tank that was suitable for mass production, decently armored, and capable of quick offensive attacks. A project began in 2124 and by 2133, the T-33 was finihsed development and the first prototypes were sent out to the front lines of Siberia. The Type 33 Light Tank was built from the chassis of a crawler tractor and gave the tank a noticable size and height. It was large enough to hold a four man crew and was given modern weapons systems to allow the crew to drive the tank without being overburdened with too many responsibilities. The main armament is a 57 mm cannon and the ammunition was the same kind used by 57 mm AA guns giving the tank formidable firepower and a deadly cannon. The first generation of T-33s had a machine gun in the front which was automated and allowed the driver to pilot the tank. As the tank was pressed into mass production, new variants were made which included a second machine gun on top of the turret and some with two sentry guns on the front of the tank. Design Specifications The T-33 was based on the relatively common Ural Factory T-2053 crawler tractor, a vehicle used as a farm tractor and a bulldozer with a blade attached, many examples of which survived the war. The vehicle had a 250 horsepower Fusion Engine powered by microfusion cores which the Far Eastern Republic still possessed the technology to produce. The driver was seated forward of the turret. The vehicle body was covered by steel plates between 10 and 30mm, sufficient to keep out small arms fire, with the front resistant to up to 12.7 x 108mm ball ammunition. The vehicle was also often equipped with "slat armor" designed to prematurely detonate shaped charge weapons such as RPGs, rendering them ineffective. The main armament consists of a modified version of the S-60 57mm anti-aircraft gun which is loaded with a single 57mm round similar to the gun on a conventional tank. The gun was operated by a two-man crew, a gunner and a loader, who shared the turret with the tank commander. The 57mm gun was not capable of piercing the armor of the most advanced pre-war tanks such as the T-87 and T-61 Main Battle Tank, however, with an armor piercing round, it could penetrate the armor of a rival tractor tank, and lighter vehicles such as Technicals and APCs. The gun could even penetrate the side and/or rear armor of some reactivated WWII-era vehicles. With this firepower, the vehicle could engage most threats on the post-war battlefield, even if it was no match for a pre-war main battle tank. The secondary armament consisted of one or two automated sentry turrets, most of which mounted a 7.62mm PKA machine gun, in addition to a pintle mount on top of the turret that usually mounted a PK-pattern 7.62mm machine gun or a DShK 12.7mm machine gun. Operational History The first deployment of the T-33 tank was during the Second Siberian Intervention in 2138 when the Far Eastern Republic invaded Eastern Siberia in support of a socialist government in the region after it was facing armed opposition from Free Siberian Army. The first batch of T-33s were sent to the 10th Armored Brigade which consisted of 12 T-33s and 22 BT-70s, and the tank first saw action at the Battle of Tomsk where the T-33s shocked the Free Siberian Army who lacked suficiant anti-tank weapons. The slanted armor of the T-33 rendered many of the RPGs the FSA had ineffective and they were able to break through their frontlines and force them to retreat. The T-33 proved itself to be an effective weapon and another batch of 28 were sent to the front and took part in the Siberian Offensive, the last major engagement of the war. During the whole campaign, a total of 40 T-33s saw actionw with only three being disabled during combat, though they were recovered and restored to working order by the 144th Logistical Company. More tanks were produced and became a standard tank used by the Far Eastern Army by the 23rd century. Due to the tank being friendly for mass production, the tank was produced in large numbers and was a major source of revenue for the Vladivostok Arms Company. By 2240, at least 32 T-33 tanks were deployed to the Second Army on the border with Manchuria and were reportedly used to take out Manchu Army units that engaged in skirmishes at the border. New variants of the tank went into development with many VAC officials experimenting with new guns, armor and a possible larger sized variant, though these remained in the testing phases for much of the 2250s due to the Far Eastern government not requesting new variants at the time. The next major deployment of the T-33 would be during the Cascadian Civil War against the Federation of Alaska. During the war, the Far Eastern Republic provided covert support in the form of material aid and volunteers to the New Comintern Pact and pro-communist insurgents inside Cascadia to support their effort to overthrow the government of Chancellor Jerome Bennett. In August 2285, Far Eastern vessels were fired upon by Alaskan gunboats and coastal batteries which lead to the Bering Sea Bridge Clashes between Far Eastern and Alaskan Forces. The T-33 was used against the Alaskan forces and while it was vulnerable to reactivated M4 Sherman tanks, the T-33s were armed with armor piercing rounds and were capable of dealing with the Shermans in one-on-one engagements and was capable of taking out Alaskan infantry. The bulk of the Alaskan tanks during the clash were post-war AFVs and technicals which gave the T-33s a fighting chance. Category:Vehicles Category:Technology